Several Dead In Mass Shooting At Bar In California

Newsroom

Posted on November 09, 2018
by Olivia Esveld

A US Marine Corps veteran opened fire on a crowd of mostly college students and young adults dancing at a country and western bar in a suburb of Los Angeles, killing 12 people including a sheriff's deputy.

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean named the suspect as Ian Long, 28. Dean told a news conference Long had likely taken his own life.

He said he appeared to have shot at random, using only a Glock .45-calibre handgun. There was no known motive.

A hooded gunman dressed entirely in black opened fire on a crowd in a Southern California bar, killing 12 people and sending hundreds fleeing. #9Newshttps://t.co/F6wZwRoiR9

An unknown number of people were wounded in the shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill, a popular venue with college students and young adults in the suburb of Thousand Oaks. Wednesday was dubbed "College Country Night".

Dean said there were six off-duty law enforcement officers from various agencies in the bar when the shootings occurred and some survivors said the law enforcement officers stood in front of them to protect them.

"It's a horrific scene in there," Dean said earlier. "There is blood everywhere and the suspect is part of that."

It was the third mass shooting in the US in under two weeks, six days after the death of two women at a yoga class in Tallahassee, Florida and 12 days after a gunman killed 11 worshippers at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Jerry Nadler, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said lawmakers would get to work on legislation including universal background checks when the House of Representatives convenes in January with a Democratic majority.

"We must find a way to stop the senseless, and many times preventable killings that are robbing our country of innocent lives," he tweeted.

President Donald Trump, who has resisted a surge in calls for tougher gun controls since 17 students were shot dead at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida earlier this year, said on Twitter that he had been "fully briefed on the terrible shooting in California".

"Great bravery shown by police," Trump tweeted. "God bless all of the victims and families of the victims."

Thousand Oaks was named the third-safest city in the US for 2018 by the website Niche.

"I've learned it doesn't matter what community you're in," Dean told reporters when asked if he was surprised this happened in Thousand Oaks. "It doesn't matter how safe your community is. It can happen anywhere."

Deputies were at the suspect's house seeking a search warrant. The gun used in the attack was a Glock handgun, which is designed to hold up to 10 rounds and one in the chamber but had extended magazines on it, Dean said.

Tristan Appleby, a witness who was at the bar, told CNN that the shooter was dressed all in black, and that the security guard at the front of the bar was shot early on in the assault. Appleby said he saw the suspect fire off about a dozen shots, including at those already wounded and lying on the floor.

California Lutheran University, a private liberal arts school, is less than 8km away from the bar where the shooting attack took place and it is a popular venue with many students attending the university.

School officials said in a statement on its website that classes on Thursday were cancelled and the university community was invited to gather at the chapel.

Multiple students from Pepperdine University, a private school in Malibu about 40km south from the bar, were also at the venue and the school said on Twitter that it was working to identify and provide support to those students.

The dead officer was identified as Sergeant Ron Helus, a 29-year veteran of the department, Dean told reporters. Helus and a California Highway Patrol officer were the first to arrive at the bar and went inside just before 11.30pm local time on Wednesday.